Citizens Committee in Mt. Pleasant, PA Draft Drilling Ordinances for Their Community

March 29, 2010

A citizens committee in Mt. Pleasant Township, PA (Washington County) has developed a draft zoning ordinance that will dictate what drillers in their township can, and cannot, do. From a news article:

The citizens advisory committee presented a final draft on its proposal for a zoning amendment governing oil and gas activities.

The committee, headed by Dencil Backus, is made up of about a dozen residents who have studied other zoning ordinances to find suitable regulations that would address the activity in Mt. Pleasant. They have looked at ways to address noise, light, odors and buffers in addition to where certain activity can take place.

In studying the matter, the committee has taken the approach that gas drilling into the Marcellus Shale should take place but not at the expense of the landowners, township or residents’ quality of life.

The rough draft still has to be reviewed by the supervisors and solicitor. From there, [Township Supervisor Larry] Grimm said, it will be passed on to the township and Washington County’s planning commissions for their approval.*